2015–16 Dallas Sidekicks season

The 2015–16 Dallas Sidekicks season was the fourth season of the relaunched Dallas Sidekicks professional indoor soccer club. The Sidekicks, a Pacific Division team in the Western Conference of the Major Arena Soccer League, played their home games in the Allen Event Center in Allen, Texas. The team was led by new head coach Simon Bozas and assistant coach Nick Stavrou. The team struggled to recover from off-season turmoil and finished with a 7–13 record, missing the playoffs for the first time in the arena era.

Dallas Sidekicks
2015–16 MASL season
Head Coach/GMSimon Bozas[1]
ArenaAllen Event Center
200 East Stacy Road
Allen, Texas 75002
Major Arena Soccer LeagueWestern Conference, Pacific Division
Highest home attendance4,486 (January 30 vs. Soles de Sonora)
Lowest home attendance1,307 (January 14 vs. Tacoma Stars)
Average home league attendance2,211 (10 games)[2]

Season summary

The season began with a closer-than-expected loss to the Missouri Comets in front of the revived team's then-smallest home crowd to date. An overtime loss at home to the Las Vegas Legends was followed by defeat on the road against the Syracuse Silver Knights. A road loss to the Tacoma Stars was followed two days later by a win in Tacoma. Dallas played their next four games at home, all victories, defeating the San Diego Sockers, Brownsville Barracudas, and Saltillo Rancho Seco. While 2016 opened with a win, the Sidekicks lost a road game to Saltillo, won twice at Brownsville, then dropped consecutive home games to Tacoma, the Ontario Fury, and Soles de Sonora bringing their record to 7–8. Road losses to the Las Vegas Legends and Ontario dropped the team to 7–10 and eliminated Dallas from playoff contention for the first time in the arena era. Dallas ended its season with three losses in four days, losing the final home game in overtime to the Milwaukee Wave before roadtrip losses to Sonora and San Diego. The final 7–13 record is one of the worst winning percentages in overall team history.

History

With some continuity in ownership, staff, and players, the Sidekicks claim the heritage of the original Dallas Sidekicks that won four championships as members of four leagues (MISL I, CISL, PSA/WISL, and MISL II) while playing at Reunion Arena in Dallas from 1984 to 2004.[3][4] The new Sidekicks debuted as members of the Professional Arena Soccer League at the Allen Event Center in November 2012, posting a 13–3 record during the 2012–13 season before falling to the Rio Grande Valley Flash in the playoffs.[5] For the 2013–14 season, the Sidekicks improved to 14 wins and 2 losses. For the 2014–15 season, the Sidekicks amassed a 14–6 record in the regular season and finished second in the Central Division.[5] Dallas defeated Oxford City FC of Texas in the Southern Division Semi-Finals before losing to the Monterrey Flash in the Division Finals.[6][7]

Off-field moves

Head coach Tatu and the team parted ways in June 2015 over a payment dispute.[8] The situation was resolved in October 2015 and Tatu rejoined the team as an ambassador of the sport.[9]

Owner Ronnie Davis sold the team to Sidekicks Sports Management, LLC, in October 2015. Davis initially retained a minority share of the franchise and briefly remained with the Sidekicks as a consultant, until the Sidekicks Sport Management group: Bob Heckel, Sean Porter, and Craig Porter decided to lead the team in a different direction than Davis.[8]

On January 30, 2016, the team distributed a Donruss-produced 20-card team set to fans in attendance at that night's game. The set includes cards for 20 Sidekicks players, including Jamie Lovegrove who had been kept off the field for the entire season by visa issues.

Roster moves

The team formally signed new head coach Simon Bozas on October 20, 2015, after the completion of the sale of the team.[10] The bulk of the Sidekicks initial roster was put under contract on November 6 with the rest of the opening day roster signed on November 11 and 12.[11] On November 19, Dallas signed forward Arthur Ivo, defender Clint Ritter, goalkeeper Paul Hason, and midfielder Franck Mbemba. Defender David Kamali joined the team on December 2, 2015. On January 6, 2016, Dallas signed forward Gabe Arredondo and defender Clark Binning.[11]

Schedule

  Win   Loss

Regular season
Game Day Date Kickoff Opponent[12] Results Location[13] Attendance
Score Record
1 Friday November 13 7:35pm Missouri Comets L 6–8[14][15] 0–1 Allen Event Center[10] 1,750[16]
2 Friday November 20 7:35pm Las Vegas Legends L 4–5 (OT)[17] 0–2 Allen Event Center[18] 1,635[19]
3 Saturday November 281 7:05pm at Syracuse Silver Knights L 5–9[20] 0–3 Oncenter War Memorial Arena[21] 1,616[22]
4 Friday December 4 7:35pm at Tacoma Stars L 3–4[23][24] 0–4 ShoWare Center[25] 2,148[26]
5 Sunday December 6 3:05pm at Tacoma Stars W 6-2[27] 1–4 ShoWare Center[25] 2,027[28]
6 Saturday December 12 7:05pm San Diego Sockers W 9-7 2–4 Allen Event Center 2,325[29]
7 Saturday December 19 3:05pm Brownsville Barracudas W 8-7 3–4 Allen Event Center 1,594[30]
8 Tuesday December 29 7:35pm Saltillo Rancho Seco W 6–4[31] 4–4 Allen Event Center[32] 2,130[33]
9 Saturday January 2 7:05pm Brownsville Barracudas W 10–4[34] 5–4 Allen Event Center 2,713[35]
10 Friday January 8 8:05pm at Saltillo Rancho Seco L 6–7[36] 5–5 Deportivo Rancho-Seco Saltillo[34] 226[37]
11 Saturday January 9 8:05pm at Brownsville Barracudas W 5–3 6–5 Barracudas Sports Complex 124[38]
12 Sunday January 10 6:05pm at Brownsville Barracudas W 7–5[39] 7–5 Barracudas Sports Complex 143[40]
13 Thursday January 142 7:05pm Tacoma Stars L 2–3[41][42] 7–6 Allen Event Center 1,307[43]
14 Friday January 15 7:35pm Ontario Fury L 7–9 7–7 Allen Event Center 2,429[44]
15 Saturday January 30 7:05pm Soles de Sonora L 4–13 7–8 Allen Event Center 4,486[45]
16 Friday February 12 7:05pm at Las Vegas Legends L 6–8 7–9 Las Vegas Sports Park 428[46]
17 Saturday February 13 6:05pm at Ontario Fury L 3–9[47] 7–10 Citizens Business Bank Arena 3,712[48]
18 Thursday February 25 7:35pm Milwaukee Wave L 6–7 (OT) 7–11 Allen Event Center 1,747[49]
19 Saturday February 27 7:05pm at Soles de Sonora L 8–12[50] 7–12 Centro de Usos Múltiples 5,589[51]
20 Sunday February 28 2:05pm at San Diego Sockers L 3–8[50] 7–13 Valley View Casino Center 5,032[52]

1 Originally scheduled for January 31, 2016, at Missouri Comets. Rescheduled after collapse of Hartford City FC.[53]
2 Originally scheduled for October 24, 2015. Rescheduled to delay start of Dallas' season.[9]

Personnel

Player roster

As of January 19, 2015[54][55] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK United States USA Juan Gamboa
2 DF United States USA David Kamali
3 DF United States USA Mike Jones
4 DF United States USA Clark Binning
6 DF United States USA Clint Ritter
7 MF United States USA R.J. Luevano
13 GK United States USA Jaime Ibarra
14 DF Brazil BRA Fabinho Leite
15 MF United States USA Cameron Brown
18 MF Zaire ZAI Patrick Shamu
19 FW Brazil BRA Arthur Ivo
No. Pos. Nation Player
25 FW Colombia COL Rubencho Hernandez
26 MF United States USA Gustavo Piedra
29 DF Ecuador ECU Ray Aguayo
33 DF United States USA Cody Ellis
34 MF Republic of the Congo CGO Franck Mbemba
37 FW United States USA VcMor Eligwe
77 DF United States USA T.J. Nelson
79 MF Brazil BRA Ricardinho Cavalcante
86 GK Serbia SRB Dejan Milosevic
88 MF United States USA Michael Grba
99 FW United States USA Gabe Arredondo

Other players that logged time on the field for the Sidekicks this season include midfielders #28 Paolo Da Silva, #27 Henrique De Souza, and #21 Fernando Garza.[54]

Staff

The team's new ownership group for this season is Sidekicks Sports Management, LLC. Key front office personnel included Chief Operations Officer Bob Heckel, Chief Financial Officer Craig Porter, vice presidents Kevin Lindstrom and Pablo Benitez, plus Ronnie Davis as director of sponsorships.[56]

Game day staff included head coach/general manager Simon Bozas and assistant coach Nick Stavrou.[57] The team's athletic trainer was Steve Parker. The team's public relations and communications director was Melissa Smith. The director of events was Nicolle Osborn and the director of operations was Sean Miller.[56]

All of the Sidekicks' home games were aired live in high-definition on Time Warner Cable Sports Channel.[58][59] The broadcast team included Norm Hitzges on play by play, former Sidekicks coach Gordon Jago with color commentary, and team historian Alan Balthrop.[56][60] Most MASL games were streamed by Go Live Sports with select games streamed live by ESPN3.[61] The in-arena announcer was John Clemens.[56]

Awards and honors

On December 9, 2015, forward Cameron Brown was named to the MASL's Team of the Week for his offensive efforts in a pair of road games against the Tacoma Stars.[62] He was then chosen as Player of the Week in a poll of MASL fans.

References
  1. Thornton, Matt (October 19, 2015). "Exclusive Interview with Dallas Sidekicks New Head Coach Simon Bozas". Dallas Entertainment Journal. Dallas, TX. Retrieved October 22, 2015.
  2. "2015-16 League Attendance". Major Arena Soccer League. Retrieved March 2, 2016.
  3. Brown, Travis L. (May 1, 2012). "Dallas Sidekicks reboot in November". ESPN Dallas/Fort Worth. Retrieved May 2, 2012.
  4. Betsill, Jay (January 14, 2013). "Checking out the Dallas Sidekicks game". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Fort Worth, TX. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
  5. Hunt, Steve (October 24, 2014). "While regular seasons have been a blast, playoff success has proven elusive for Dallas Sidekicks". The Dallas Morning News. Dallas, TX: A. H. Belo. Archived from the original on October 26, 2014. Retrieved October 26, 2014.
  6. Garza, Jose Luis (March 8, 2015). "Flash, campeón divisional" (in Spanish). Monterrey: Grupo Multimedios. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 9, 2015 – via XHAW-TV.
  7. Welch, Matt (March 9, 2015). "Division rival Monterrey eliminates Sidekicks from playoffs". Allen American. Allen, TX: Star Local News. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
  8. Marshall, Raymond (October 16, 2015). "Dallas Sidekicks Sold, Tatu Lawsuit Settled". The Dallas Morning News. Dallas, TX: A. H. Belo. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved October 22, 2015.
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  10. Welch, Matt (November 13, 2015). "New coach guides Sidekicks into 2015-16 campaign: Blend of youth, experience rampant on Dallas indoor soccer squad". Allen American. Allen, TX: Star Local News. Retrieved November 14, 2015.
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